Gang Clashes in Port-au-Prince Displace Hundreds, Forcing MSF to Suspend Cité Soleil Hospital Operations

A new wave of gang violence in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince displaced hundreds of people over the weekend and prompted medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres to suspend operations at its hospital in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood on 11 May 2026.

About 800 residents sought refuge from the fighting inside the MSF hospital before the suspension took effect. MSF said it could not guarantee the safety of staff or patients due to gunfire in the area.

A security guard was struck by a stray bullet inside the MSF compound. “Currently, not a single hospital is open in the area where the fighting is taking place,” MSF stated. The group had treated some patients transferred from another facility, Hopital Fontaine, including pregnant women who gave birth overnight at MSF facilities.

Hopital Fontaine had evacuated newborns from its intensive care unit. MSF operations at the Cite Soleil hospital were suspended after the group determined it could not ensure safety amid the clashes. The aid organisation said the need for medical services remains substantial even as it halted work.

Monique Verdieux, 56, said she is now sleeping in the street. She told the Associated Press she was afraid to return home after watching gunmen burn buildings in her neighbourhood. Other Haitians displaced by fighting over the weekend have taken refuge on the road to Toussaint Louverture airport.

The latest surge adds to years of instability in which fighting between powerful gangs has seized effective control over large parts of the Haitian capital since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021. A contingent of foreign troops arrived in Haiti in April as part of a United Nations-linked effort.

Past interventions have had little impact on the insecurity, according to Al Jazeera reported.

Al Jazeera reported that efforts by authorities to quell the fighting and curb the influence of criminal groups have largely proven ineffective. The suspension of MSF services leaves residents in the affected districts without access to hospital care at a time when gang violence has again intensified.